Jessica Crum

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Faith + Inspiration, Fashion, Lifestyle, Marriage + Relationships ·

10 Things I’ve Learned from my Husband

“There’s no potion for a perfect marriage, just a perfect God working out His perfect love in two imperfect people.” – Fierce Marriage

Clayton and I have been together for 8 years now, and yet I still feel like he’s teaching me something new every day. One of my favorite things about marriage is that I get to build a life with my best friend. As my best friend, Clayton is there to encourage me, challenge me, teach me, and lead me closer to Christ. Today I wanted to share with you all 10 things I’ve learned from having him as my husband.

  1. Positivity – Clayton has taught me that it is a CHOICE to wake up every day in a good mood, and it’s ultimately up to YOU to decide how your day will go. He encourages me to always be thankful for the good and bad things that happen in my day, because ultimately they are shaping me into the person I am becoming.
  2. It takes effort – One of the first things that you learn when you get married is that marriage isn’t what the movies say it will be. The romance and butterflies fade, but the passion doesn’t have to. Clayton continuously pursues me even when I’m being difficult… and his relentless pursuit is one of my favorite things about him.
  3. If you think of something nice, say it – Something I’ve seen that Clayton does is compliment people whenever he likes or notices something about them.. and it always makes that person feel loved. It’s not about being “fake”, but simply being bold enough to tell someone the nice thing you’re thinking about even if you don’t know the person. The best compliments come from strangers!
  4. Apologize even when it isn’t easy – Clayton’s best quality and something that he taught me from the very beginning was the importance of an apology even when it’s hard to give. I feel like your pride begins to shine through in marriage when you don’t want to admit that you’ve done something wrong. Laying down your pride in marriage and apologizing is one of the best ways you can love your spouse.
  5. Spend time apart – Yes.. this sounds funny.. but it really is important. Being married doesn’t mean you have to spend every free minute together for the rest of your life. Distance is good not only to appreciate (and miss) your spouse, but also to be able to stay grounded in who YOU are. Your identity isn’t in your spouse, and it’s important to get a little “me time”.
  6. Be a cheerleader – Clayton is my biggest fan. I couldn’t have started blogging without his constant support and encouragement. When everyone else told me I was crazy, he told me to follow my dreams. Through his example, I’ve learned to constantly encourage him to follow his dreams even when I personally cannot see the end goal just yet.
  7. Have your own goals – I think it’s easy when you get married to find your identity in your spouse. Something we have always challenged each other to do is of course become a unit of one together in Christ, but also be independent in our own aspirations. Claytons wins are my wins, but it’s nice to have my own independence and find success through things I’m capable of doing on my own.
  8. Create traditions – Clayton and I both love when we do things that have meaning or hold significance in our lives. His family always has to find the “baby Jesus” in their nativity scene and read the Christmas story in the Bible before they open presents each year. We can’t wait to have a family together one day to create traditions like this one!
  9. Be quick to forgive – Forgiveness is hard.. but at the end of the day we’re all imperfect people and deserve to be forgiven. We’re called to forgive 70 times 7, and Clayton shows continuous grace in the way he forgives me.
  10. Always date your spouse – Last but not least, it’s important to put on a cute outfit and be intentional about spending one on one time together. Not just on the couch, or while going through your every day routine, but to actually plan a date where you can put your phones down and focus on just your spouse.

I wore this outfit on our latest day date and it was so fun to be able to dress up for my man! I paired it with one of my favorite bracelets from Victoria Emerson. What I love about these bracelets is that it looks like you’re wearing a stack but it’s actually just one wrap. They have a ton of great styles included in their Labor Day sale that I have linked below for you. You can get 40% off site wide until September 2nd.

*Thank you to Victoria Emerson for sponsoring this post. All opinions & product selections are my own.

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  1. Kayla says

    This blog post was so sweet! I’ve been trying to work on the 3rd one. I really do think it can make someone’s day! Apologizing even when it’s not hard is difficult for me. I just don’t like admitting that I’m wrong. Thanks for these reminders❤

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